


fireworks

by starkravingcap



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Family Fluff, Fireworks, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 17:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20510789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkravingcap/pseuds/starkravingcap
Summary: It takes Jacob three weeks to scrounge up enough cash, but somehow, he manages it. He settles his brothers into bed on a Saturday night, locks their bedroom door, and sneaks out the window as the stars flicker in the darkness of the sky.The walk is long, hot, but eventually Jacob reaches the trailer in the supermarket parking lot. The sign out front is colourful, reds and whites and blues, proclaiming ‘FIREWORKS SOLD HERE’ in dark black lettering. He steps up to the window and hands over a pocketful of crumpled bills.





	fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> For the tumblr prompt: "Fireworks".

It takes Jacob three weeks to scrounge up enough cash, but somehow, he manages it. He settles his brothers into bed on a Saturday night, locks their bedroom door, and sneaks out the window as the stars flicker in the darkness of the sky.

The walk is long, hot, but eventually Jacob reaches the trailer in the supermarket parking lot. The sign out front is colourful, reds and whites and blues, proclaiming ‘FIREWORKS SOLD HERE’ in dark black lettering. He steps up to the window and hands over a pocketful of crumpled bills.

“Aren’t you a little young to be buying this stuff?” The guy in the trailer asks.

Jacob fixes him with a particularly scathing look.

“Mind your own fuckin’ business,” he advises, his voice a quiet rasp.

The man behind the window stares at him, and Jacob steels himself for a warning, for a threat to take his money and leave.

It doesn’t come. The man sighs heavily, and counts the bills Jacob’s shoved at him.

“You looking for anything in particular?”

Jacob shakes his head.

“No. Just wherever I can get for that.”

* * *

“Where are we going?” Joseph asks the next day as Jacob leads them down the empty street.

It’s a sweltering evening, even as the sun inches below the horizon and the moon slides up to illuminate the sky. Jacob wipes sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Shut up,” Jacob says with little real venom, shifting the duffle bag to his other shoulder. “We’re almost there.”

He looks over to find his brother eyeing him warily, his backpack strapped to his shoulders and John’s tiny hand clasped in his own.

“Relax,” Jacob assures him. His voice is soft this time, kindness that is reserved for his brothers alone. “You good, John?”

John makes a face, and Jacob has to fight back a smile. He’s a cute kid, a _good_ kid, somehow always happy despite the chaos in their lives.

“I don’t wanna walk,” John says adamantly, making a show of dragging his legs like he’s physically exhausted. “Will you carry me?”

He’s four, and Jacob’s been trying to force him to be a little more independent, but he’s always had a hard time saying no to him.

“I’ll carry you on the way home. C’mon, we’re almost there.”

The walk a couple hundred feet more in silence, the world settling down around them as the last dregs of daylight fade away, until they’ve suddenly reached a clearing. It’s an open field, one Jacob has brought his brothers to before on a hazy summer afternoons. He stops walking and drops the duffle bag, fumbling the zipper open.

“Are those fireworks?” Joseph asks curiously, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah,” Jacob reaches into the bag and pulls a few of them up. There’s not a lot, but it’ll do. “For the Fourth of July.”

“_Fireworks!_“ John shouts. He tears his hand out of Joseph’s grasp and claps his hands together to a chant of “fireworks, fireworks, fireworks!”.

Joseph unzips his backpacks and grabs the blankets Jacob made him pack, splaying them across the ground while Jacob sets the fireworks up a safe distance away.

“You guys ready?” he calls.

There’s a lighter in his hand, and the flame flickers to life as Joseph gives him a thumbs up. Jacob leans down, lights the fuse, then jogs over to the two of them to watch the sparks fly.

The first firework crackles, and a split second later bursts of colour shoot into the sky, one at a time, each one accompanied by a loud pop that Jacob feels in his chest. John _squeals_, the smile on his face so wide Jacob thinks it might get stuck there permanently.

He reaches down to scoop John up into his arms. Jacob cradles him against his hip and spins them around as the coloured sparks explode across the night sky. Next to them, Joseph laughs.

It’s been so long since Jacob has seen his brothers so happy. It breaks his heart. He wishes he could give them this every day.

Purple paints the darkness. Without warning, something knocks the wind out of him, and Jacob looks down to find that Joseph has wrapped his arms tight around his middle. He’s holding onto him like his life depends on it.

“Thank you,” Joseph says, just loud enough to be heard over the popping of the fireworks. “Thank you, Jake. This is great.”

Jacob reaches a hand up to ruffle his hair, and tucks Joseph a little further into his side.

**Author's Note:**

> i have the tragically hip song stuck in my head.
> 
> follow me on [ tumblr](https://softseeds.tumblr.com/) for more nonsense, and maybe even request a thing!


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